Woman’s Month: Hard Work and Dedication Are Key to Mika Heeraman’s Successful Car Body Shop's Business in KZN

• Mika Heeraman, 29, is the owner of Unique Auto Panel & Paint in KwaZulu-Natal
• The car body shop owner grew up in Chatsworth and Richards Bay and shadowed her dad's job as a spraypainter during school holidays
• Mika's advice for females looking to make their mark in the male-dominated industry is to "stay true to yourself, stand firm in your beliefs"

Mika Heeraman's dedication and hard work saw the female entrepreneur open up her Unique Auto Panel & Paint shop at 26.

According to Unique Auto Panel & Paint's Facebook page, the company is one of South Africa's few 100% female and youth-owned panel shops.

Heerman grew up in Chatsworth and Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal, which she describes as "car fanatic" towns.

As a school girl, Heereman would shadow her father, who was a spraypainter during the school holidays.

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Mika spoke exclusively to Briefly News and says:

"Honestly, I don’t see myself doing anything fantastic and extraordinary. I’m just someone who is trying to make a living so that I can take care of my family, and at the same time, I try to uplift our local community with job opportunities. My ultimate goal would be to have my own training centre and team up with the local high schools in the area."

Briefly News asked Mika for advice she would give to young female entrepreneurs interested looking to get into the car body repairs sector; she said:

"Stay true to yourself, stand firm in your beliefs and do not let anyone make you feel as if you don’t belong. As a woman, regardless of which industry you find yourself in, you will always have to fight a little harder and prove yourself time after time. Transform the energy of rejection, discrimination and gender inequality into a catalyst that helps drive your dreams in the motor industry. Always take steps towards new challenges because even if you fail, you will learn lessons that will be used in your future successes."

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South African women drivers are better than men, data suggests

Briefly News reports that South African female drivers are better than men regarding harsh driving style and vehicle impacts.

The company honed in on four areas: vehicle impacts, harsh braking, harsh acceleration, and harsh cornering among its female and male clients. The result was that women were superior to men in every area.

Netstar describes vehicle impacts as hitting potholes, pavements, or other vehicles. The data shows that 1.3% of the total number of the telematics company's female clients were involved in vehicle impacts compared to 1.4% for men.

Female drivers also performed better in the harsh braking, acceleration and cornering, with 13.2% of women compared to 18.8% of men judged to have performed worse.

Source: Briefly News